Me Time Minutes: Grounding

Grounding Techniques for Moms: Essential Tools for Staying Calm

In this episode of 'Me Time Minutes,' host Molly discusses the underrated but powerful tool of grounding to help moms stay present and calm in stressful situations. She introduces three effective grounding techniques: the 5-4-3-2-1 method, a cold water reset, and feet on the floor with deep breaths. Molly emphasizes the importance of grounding in soothing the nervous system and offers practical advice for incorporating these techniques into daily routines. Listeners are encouraged to follow 'Mama Needs Me Time' on Instagram and Facebook for more self-care tips and community support.

00:00 Introduction to Grounding
00:34 Understanding Grounding
02:07 Grounding Techniques
04:55 Why Grounding Matters
05:50 Implementing Grounding in Daily Life
06:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

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Today's me time minute is all about something you've probably heard about a million times. We're gonna talk about grounding, so let's get into it. Hey, welcome to me time, minutes, your quick self-care boost and honest mom conversation in the middle of a busy week, because even a few minutes of me time can change everything. Let's dive in. Welcome back to me. Time, minutes. This soul nourishing episode is going to give you exactly what you need to hear about motherhood. As always, I'm your host, Molly, and today we're diving into something that I am sure you've heard a lot about and we're gonna talk about how to practice grounding now. I think grounding is one of the most underrated but most powerful tools. That a mom can be using? I mean, have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you couldn't focus and had no idea how to get started? Or like your brain was just spinning around in five different directions and you couldn't keep up? This my friend, is the exact moment where grounding becomes your best friend. So what the hell am I talking about? So grounding is any technique that brings you back to the present moment. It pulls you out of this stress, anxiety, the spiraling thoughts, and it reconnects you with your body and your surroundings at the time, because when you're grounded, you're calmer. You can think more clearly and you can respond instead of reacting. As moms, we've all been there. We have all had a moment where our child is. Scream crying at two in the morning, throwing a fit in the grocery store, or just embarrassing you beyond repair and you lose yourself. And then we get into our lizard brain and we start just reacting to a situation. So instead today I'm gonna give you some tools that can help you in the moment to not flip out, but rather deal with things in a logical way. So here are three grounding techniques that I personally use that have benefited me. In a number of ways. All right, number one is called the 5 4 3 2 1 method. So when you're in a moment, and I wanna remind you that the more you practice these things, the easier they are like gonna be to implement. So 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method involves this. You look around you at the time, what are five things you can see? What are four things that you can touch? What are three things that you can hear? Two things that you can smell and one thing that you can taste. However, you can also input one thing that you like about yourself. I don't recommend like licking things when you're in a moment of panic, but rather focus on like. One thing I like about myself is the fact that I'm doing this method right now. Um, this is gonna be a really quick, full body reset that helps you in times of panic. Uh, if you have the means, number two is one that I use often, and that's a cold water reset. So, you know, you pop into the bathroom for a minute, runs on cold water over your hands if you can splash it on your face. Um, sometimes I'll take like my water bottle, which I have in my hand right now, and I'll touch it to my wrist. It's just kind of a cold. Or different temperature sensation to kind of snap you back into the moment. Um, I have done this often when I'm in a crowded space or when I'm dealing with kind of chaos. Um, if you've been here for a bit, you know that I'm one of those Disney adults, and there have been moments where it's just so overwhelming with crowds, family, screaming kids. You know, heat, whatever, and finding something cold will just kind of snap you back into physicality instead of getting lost in your brain. Um, number three is one I use often. Um, I start my day with this technique and I'll do it, um, when my kids are kind of out of control as well. And that's feet on the floor and taking deep breaths. It sounds simple, but honestly, when you sit down, you put your feet flat on the ground and take three deep breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth, and feel that your body is being supported by the ground. Like this is literally the definition of grounding. You know, you're kind of channeling your energy into the ground. And the key there is to let your exhale be longer than your inhale. Um, and it just kind of helps to make you feel rooted and grounded and supported. So why is grounding important? Right? So your nervous system is always scanning for safety. That's how we're wired as animals and humans. So when you're constantly. Looking around. There's been a TikTok trend recently that's like my body doesn't know the difference between being chased by a bear or having to say the right thing at the dentist's office when they say Have a good day. Um, so your body, these techniques help you and your body to know that you are safe. We are here and we can handle this. If you're anything like me as a mom, you're constantly faced with situations where you're like, what the frick am I doing? And these techniques help you to realize that like I. Whew, I can do this. I am here. I am capable. I'm getting it done. So you don't have to wait for a meltdown to ground yourself. Like I said, I implement these techniques in the morning, um, as part of my like morning routine. They're quick and they're easy. You can do them when you're calm'cause it does help you to build that muscle. Um, I know I'm gonna embarrass myself here for a long time. My default was whenever I needed a tool, I would just grab a hammer and a Phillips head screwdriver. I. No matter what I needed to do, I could either smash my way through it or figure it out with those. But as I've learned, I now know that there are different size screwdrivers. There are different types of hammers, there are different types of tools to help us through every situation, and that's what implementing these grounding techniques and building up your emotional support toolbox. Those emotional support muscles are going to do for you, so you deserve to have every tool imaginable to help soothe your nervous system. Grounding is free, it is fast, and even in the most chaotic of situations, there is a method available to you. So I wanna remind you to take care of yourself. Implement these over the next few days, few weeks. Let me know how they're working for you if you want me to do more content about grounding, but the most important thing is to take care of you and we'll see you next time. All right. That's it. That's your me time minute. If this resonated with you, make sure to follow. Mama needs me time on Instagram and Facebook, and join our community for more support. And remember, you're worth every bit of rest that you can get. See you next time.